Closing Time
by Stained Bloodless
Summary: There's something strange about someone in the Halliwell household, that could turn their lives upside down... R&R please!
1. Default Chapter

Part One.  
  
For some, the silence could have been terrifying. The streets too empty, the houses quietly gathering dust, the air musty and thick with tension had sent many people fleeing for their lives. They knew there was something bad coming. There was evil all around them, drowning them, cursing them to death even as they ran.  
  
Many of the residents of San Francisco were no longer alive.  
  
There was one, lone person still living in the city, and she was not scared. She had never been scared of her fate, of the threatening silence that followed her everywhere she went. The one thing she had been scared of was losing the ones she loved, and she had lost them anyway.  
  
She had lost them to the deadly evil that surrounded her, and ever since that heartbreaking day, she had vowed to stay where she was, and fight for all the lives that had been lost.  
  
All because of her nephew, her future was no more. The only thing she had now was herself, her virtually destroyed home, and two badly burnt books.  
  
Those books were the most important things to her, now. They were her guidance.  
  
Her photograph album, to keep her sisters alive in her heart, and the Book of Shadows.  
  
She had no idea what use it would be without the Power of Three, but she knew that she would be taking a sweet, sweet revenge on Wyatt Matthew Halliwell. 


	2. Part Two

Part Two.  
  
Almost five years ago, there had lived three sisters with one of the sisters' son of twelve. They had not, and had never been, a normal family. One might think it was because all of the sisters were single, all devoted to the one child, and barely raising enough income to support the family of four.  
  
This, however, was not the reason.  
  
You see, Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt Halliwell were all witches. Not any old witch, casting spells that rarely worked and smoking the house out with incense - they were the Charmed Ones.  
  
Their past was much sketched over. None of them knew half of what their childhood had been about. They had thought they had been told, but in fact, their past was a dark secret that had been erased from their memories when each of them had been but nine years old.  
  
All of them, that was, apart from Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, the only boy of the family.  
  
He not only had the memories of his own past, his father's disappearance into the realms above where he was much respected, the instant powers he had from birth, and the time devoted to him by his mother, aunts and the strange guardian that had appeared when he was a mere baby, but Wyatt also had memories of the rest of his family.  
  
He knew things about his mother that even she didn't know. He knew Paige's foster parents better than she did herself. Phoebe - he experienced her fight with the evil that had taken her over, and almost won - he had also felt her strength as she brought herself back to her sisters.  
  
Ever since he was three years old, Wyatt knew every little thing about his family, that even they didn't know, and he had felt an overwhelming power surge inside him ever since. Was he to know that was he was feeling, the sense of control over his mother and aunts, was evil?  
  
Of course not. Wyatt was a child, nothing more, nothing less. He was just a very, very different child.  
  
Maybe even deadly. 


	3. Part Three

Part Three.  
  
Five years earlier..  
  
"There's definitely something strange going on," Piper Halliwell said to her youngest sister Paige Matthews as the pair sat in the conservatory drinking iced tea and discussing the latest demon effects. The blonde raised one eyebrow and set her glass down on the table.  
  
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little? I mean, you say you have this feeling - but I haven't, and Phoebe would have had a premonition by now."  
  
"I know, but - I can sense it, all the time. It was weak at first, but now." Piper shuddered. "I keep getting this chill."  
  
"Maybe you should put on a sweater." Paige joked.  
  
"I'm serious, Paige." Piper exclaimed. "It's not a cold sort of chill. More like - a scared chill. But I don't know what I'm afraid of." She brushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "I've heard the saying 'smell danger' but I never believed it. But now - it's not so much smelling danger, but sensing it. I know something bad is going to happen. I just know it."  
  
"Hey, you're not the psychic one in the family, quit doing my job." Phoebe said cheerily, coming in to join her two sisters. She sat down next to Paige and stared at Piper in concern. "Honey, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I guess." Piper looked down. She didn't like the feeling, and the fact that her sisters weren't taking her seriously just made her feel even worse. She didn't know how to explain it, or tell them that she thought they could be in serious danger - a danger that they had never been in before.  
  
"She thinks that something strange is going on. I've not noticed anything. You?" Paige asked Phoebe, as if Piper weren't even in the room.  
  
"Nope." Phoebe got up and gave her older sister a hug. "It's probably hormones or something, sweetie, don't worry."  
  
Piper gave up trying, but she knew that it wasn't just hormones. It had to be something more. Hormones had never made her feel the way she did. If only Phoebe had a premonition, or they were given a sign - maybe Paige and Phoebe would believe her. Piper waited hopefully, but got nothing. Sighing heavily, she got to her feet and picked up the two empty glasses. "I'm going to pick Wyatt up from school." She said glumly, trudging out the room. Paige glanced at Phoebe worriedly.  
  
"She's taking this really strangely. I don't understand."  
  
"Maybe she's overreacting, but I don't think that we should joke so much." Phoebe agreed. She shivered suddenly, and Paige looked surprised.  
  
"You've a chill as well?"  
  
"No, not a chill." Phoebe looked around with a frown. "More like a gust of cold wind. But it's boiling hot and there's not even a breeze outside."  
  
"I never felt a wind." It was Paige's turn to look glum. "Maybe it's something wrong with me. Maybe my witch instincts are screwed up."  
  
"Don't be silly." Phoebe said heartily, but she felt a prick of anxiety. Piper felt something that her two younger sisters didn't, and she didn't appreciate Paige and Phoebe making fun of her. What was going on?  
  
"Well." Paige scrambled to her feet. "I'm going to go and see, anyhow."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, Book of Shadows. There's got to be something in there about Piper's 'sense' and your 'cold wind' and my - well, lack of everything." Paige rolled her eyes and stomped out of the conservatory. Phoebe tried not to smile. Sometimes her half-sister got way too sensitive.  
  
"Are you coming with me to pick up Wyatt?" Piper put her head into the room. Phoebe glanced at her watch, then stood up.  
  
"Yeah, might as well. I've got nothing else to do. No date. And it's Friday. Horrifying."  
  
In the car on the way over to the junior high school, Phoebe asked Piper about what had happened between her and Paige in the conservatory before Phoebe herself had come in.  
  
"Nothing much. It's just, I've been having these weird feelings that danger is near. And something bad is going to happen. Paige thought I was being paranoid, and that you would have had a premonition by now if something was going to happen."  
  
"Which is true." Phoebe agreed. "But normally I have to touch something associated with whatever's happening before I get a premonition, so you never know."  
  
"I guess." Piper pulled into a parking spot in the car park and the sisters waited as the children began pouring out into the courtyard. "Phoebs - do you think I'm overreacting?"  
  
"I don't know." Phoebe said honestly. She told Piper of the cold wind that had swept through the conservatory fifteen minutes before. "I think that we may have a ghost."  
  
"Ghost?"  
  
"Yeah. I mean, I've read all about them. They sometimes pass through bodies, making the people they're passing through get funny feelings, which is what you might be getting. And that would explain the cold wind."  
  
"It just doesn't fit together. Ghosts usually park with the house they haunt from the moment they died, right? So if it was a ghost, then wouldn't we would have had this before? I don't remember anyone dying in the house recently anyways." Piper grinned at her son, forgetting her woes for a second as he gave her a cheerful, toothy smile back. "Hi, honey! How was school?"  
  
"Good." Wyatt said, tugging at his aunt's ponytail. "Hey, Aunt Phoebe, will you help me with some homework later?"  
  
"Don't you want me to help?" Piper asked, insulted. Wyatt shook his head.  
  
"No. You're too busy. I know you've got those people down the club tonight. It's okay, Mom, Aunt Phoebe will help, right?"  
  
"Sure, sweetie." Phoebe gave Piper an apologetic glance.  
  
Wyatt settled back in his seat, a cruel smile slipping over his lips. 


	4. Part Four

Part Four.  
  
Still in the past.  
  
Wyatt settled at his desk, closed his text books and stared at the wall, focusing hard. He smiled as his bulletin board started smoking, then melted into a black, messy goo. Pinning up a poster to hide the hole in the wall, he sat back down and fiddled anxiously with the pens in his pot as he waited for his Aunt Phoebe.  
  
"Hey, there." Phoebe put her head around the door. "Ready to get down to this homework, then?"  
  
"Oh, yes." Wyatt nodded solemnly, trying desperately hard not to show his glee at how easy it was to get the young witch into his grasp. "It's this geography, Aunt Phoebe, I just don't understand it." He motioned at his books.  
  
"I think it would help if you opened them." Phoebe joked. Wyatt spun around to face her, his eyes flashing. Shocked, she stumbled backwards into the wall. "Oh - my - God. Wyatt?"  
  
"Do you know how much I hate that name?" Wyatt got up slowly, enjoying his aunt's distress. "I get teased about it all the time at school. Well, I did. But then."  
  
"Then - then what?" Phoebe stuttered, too stunned to scream.  
  
Wyatt simply grinned. "Never mind. You'll find out soon enough."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Phoebe scrambled for the door. Her lack of active power - apart from levitation, which would hardly do much - wouldn't save her from that look in her nephew's eyes.  
  
"Piper!" She bellowed as soon as the bedroom door swung open. Giggling like a maniac, Wyatt followed the running Phoebe at a leisurely pace. "Piper!"  
  
"Actually, continue with that." Wyatt called after Phoebe. "That way, Mom can watch you die. And that is so much more fun."  
  
Wanting to scare his aunt, Wyatt raised a finger and the ceiling above their heads burst into flames. Phoebe's eyes widened in terror as she fell down the rest of the stairs into Piper's arms.  
  
"Piper - it's Wyatt, he's - he - he's going to kill me, Piper! He's evil!"  
  
Piper gave Phoebe a strange look. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Look at his eyes, Piper! They're - those aren't the eyes of a normal boy! What's happened to him?" Phoebe burst into tears, still in shock at the sight of Wyatt's evil face.  
  
"Phoebe, snap out of it." Piper said impatiently. She looked up at her son. "Wyatt, are you trying to scare your aunt?"  
  
Wyatt shrugged innocently, his blue eyes glittering mischeviously. Phoebe faltered, turning her head for a second to look at the innocent young boy. She raised her head to the ceiling, and there it was, white and plastered, and definitely not in flames.  
  
"Honestly, Phoebe, get a hold of yourself." Piper sighed and walked into the kitchen. Phoebe swallowed, wondering if she had been hallucinating, and turned back to Wyatt.  
  
He smiled at her, a look in his eyes that she definitely didn't like.  
  
Why am I scared of him? 


	5. Part Five

Part Five.  
  
"What is wrong with you?" Paige demanded of Phoebe, who was fidgeting in the kitchen, pouring out mug of coffee after coffee and biting her nails anxiously. "You're acting really jumpy."  
  
"Oh, it's nothing." Phoebe didn't want to mention the episode with her and Wyatt. She knew that her sisters would never believe her.  
  
"You look really tired." Paige continued, studying her older sister closely. Phoebe hurriedly wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She had stayed up all night in the attic, searching through the Book of Shadows for an answer on Wyatt and another reason she had been too scared to go to sleep for fear that he might kill her while she was sleeping.  
  
"He's twelve years old!" She reminded herself harshly, aloud. Paige gave her a funny look.  
  
"Who is?"  
  
"Um, oh, nothing." Phoebe jumped a mile in the air as Piper and Wyatt walked in. "Hey! Piper! Wyatt! Good morning! How are you both?!" She bellowed in a high-pitched voice. Paige put her hand on Phoebe's forehead.  
  
"I think she's coming down with a fever, Piper. She's acting so strange."  
  
"Ha, ha." Phoebe swallowed hard, sensing Wyatt's steady gaze on her. She could almost feel his eyes burning into her back.  
  
"Phoebe!" Piper shrieked, leaping forwards and knocking the middle sister to the ground, hitting her hard on her spinal cord and making the brunette wince.  
  
"Piper! What are you doing?" Phoebe exclaimed in irritation, rolling out from underneath her older sister. Piper got to her feet, shaking her hair out of her eyes.  
  
"Your back - it was on fire!"  
  
Phoebe's eyes widened and she turned slowly towards Wyatt, grinning devilishly. Piper and Paige turned from one to the other, looking bewildered.  
  
"Phoebe - Wyatt - what's going on?" Piper stammered, shocked.  
  
"Piper, you were right." Phoebe turned to Piper. "Yesterday, when you said you sensed danger, you were right. And it's standing in front of us."  
  
Piper shook her head, smiling incredulously. "No, Phoebe, you're ill."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Paige said so. You've got a fever. You're burning up."  
  
"Enough to make me catch on fire?" Phoebe demanded. "Piper, last night - Wyatt tried to kill me. He - there's something wrong with him! I think he's possessed!"  
  
"Shut up!" Piper bellowed, tears welling in her eyes. "What is wrong with you? Look at him!" She motioned towards innocent Wyatt. "He's - a child, Phoebe! How can you say that?"  
  
"Mom, what is Aunt Phoebe talking about?" Wyatt asked quietly.  
  
"See! He has no idea! For God's sake, don't speak like that!" Piper drew her son protectively close to her.  
  
"Piper, just hear her out." Paige began, but Piper whirled on her.  
  
"Keep out of this! How dare she accuse my son of being - evil! How could you? Is this some revenge because of Cole?"  
  
Phoebe reeled back, her eyes wide. "What - how can you say that?"  
  
"Oh, just because you lost your baby, doesn't mean I'm going to lose mine."  
  
"I'm not a baby," Wyatt hastily intervened.  
  
"Shush, honey." Paige tried to hold back a giggle. The situation was not in the least funny, but Wyatt's indignation was.  
  
"Look, I love Wyatt! Loved!" Phoebe bellowed. "But he's not the same child he was a couple of weeks ago, Piper. He's changed. Haven't you noticed?" Now that she thought about it, Phoebe remembered her nephew's withdrawn manner, his sulkiness.  
  
"I don't understand you anymore." Piper shook her head. "You're bitter because of your own failed family. If you think you're going to take Wyatt away from me, you've got another think coming."  
  
"I don't think that! God, if I could be wrong - but I'm not. There is something wrong with him."  
  
"Hey, I'm in the room!" Wyatt protested. "What do you mean, something wrong with me? Am I ill?"  
  
Phoebe giggled, a strange, high-pitched sound. "Don't play innocent. I know that you're not who you say you are."  
  
"He's twelve years old!" Piper grabbed Wyatt by the wrist and dragged him towards the door.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Out." Piper slammed the door behind the pair.  
  
Paige span around to face Phoebe. "Now what the hell has been going on between you and Wyatt?" 


	6. Part Six

Part Six.  
  
In the present.  
  
Standing outside her sister's bedroom door, she drew a hand across her tear- streaked face and swallowed hard to contain her sobs. The large room was exactly how her sister had left it five years before. She knew that if she had continued to live in the house after Piper Halliwell's death, she would have gradually gotten used to the fact that she was alone in the large manor. But being on the run from the evil that had taken her sisters away from her had made this time the first in the house since her family had died.  
  
It was as if Piper and Phoebe Halliwell had died the day before, not five years before.  
  
Turning away slowly, Paige Matthews walked towards her own bedroom, the complete opposite to Piper's. It was left exactly how it had been when she had run out, except it was covered in a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs hung off the walls. Stepping over a pile of moth-eaten clothes, she sat down on her bed, raising a large cloud of dust, and burst into a fresh bout of tears.  
  
"Oh god, oh God." Paige moaned, rocking back and forth, her throat stinging from the cries. She buried her face in her hands, the pain and sadness sweeping through her with such vengeance that she could barely stand it. How could it be five years? It was impossible. To suffer such mourning when her sisters were long passed away could have been strange to some people, but to Paige - she hadn't just lost them five years ago, she had lost them every day since. Just feeling her nephew's pure evil as he followed her wherever she went was a reminder of what he had done, giving her the constant flashback to when they had died. "Piper, Phoebe - oh, Phoebe, why didn't we listen to you?" Paige sobbed, sliding onto her back and staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Because you were too caught up in your own lives." Phoebe said quietly from the doorway. Paige sat up, her eyes wide in horror.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, yes, Paige. You and Piper were so selfish. Thinking I was going insane. I knew that you thought I was the worst person on earth to accuse a child of being evil. But I was right, wasn't I?" Her voice became harsh, cold, unforgiving. "And because of your lack of interest, I died. You watched Wyatt kill me, then turn to Piper. You were weak, pitiful, you had to run away. You couldn't stay and save us."  
  
"Don't." Paige choked.  
  
"Why not? Every word I'm saying is the truth. If you had stayed and fought, maybe Piper and I would be alive today. Maybe San Francisco would still be alive today. Yes, that's what I'm saying, Paige. You ruined a lot of lives that day."  
  
"I know that!" Paige exclaimed shrilly. "I ruined my own as well,"  
  
"Oh, always thinking of yourself." Phoebe said bitterly. "Do you know how many children were orphaned as you ran? They're grown up now, but their pain will be forever."  
  
"Stop it." Paige pulled herself together. "I know that you're not Phoebe. She's dead."  
  
"No!" Phoebe yelled.  
  
"Yes!" Paige retorted. "You're nothing! You're just a tiny fraction of Wyatt's evil, trying to mess with my mind, make me weaker! Well, five years has taught me something, you know? I'm not trusting anything that goes on here."  
  
Phoebe's voice wavered. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Oh. I think you do." Paige replied. "Look, whatever you are, just leave me alone. When the time comes for Wyatt to die, I'll know."  
  
"Don't you mean when the time comes for you to die?" Phoebe snickered.  
  
Paige shook her head, smiling. "I have a lot of revenge built up inside me. I'm waiting for it to be released onto him. And when it does - oh, all hell will break loose. I promise. I didn't ruin a lot of lives the day Piper and Phoebe died. He did. And I'll make up for that."  
  
Phoebe burst into flames with a shriek of anger. 


	7. Part Seven

Part Seven.  
  
Back in the past.  
  
Phoebe paced the carpeted floor of the lounge, biting her lip anxiously as she awaited her sister and nephew to return home. She had skipped work just in case Piper and Wyatt came home sometime during the day, but it was almost seven o'clock in the evening and there was no sign of them.  
  
"Oh God, what if he's hurt Piper?" She said aloud, her eyes wide with horror at the thought.  
  
"Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed from the couch where she was curled up, watching Phoebe walk to and fro. "Of course he wouldn't!"  
  
"You're right, he said he'd go for me first," Phoebe nodded, swallowing hard.  
  
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Paige questioned, drawing her knees up to her chest. She didn't like the way the middle Halliwell sister was speaking at all. To talk of Wyatt killing the three of them in such a casual manner - it just wasn't right. It wasn't - sane. Paige shook her head frantically, horrified that she could think such a thing. But in her head kept the nagging reminder of Phoebe's past.  
  
Mother died when she was a baby. Barely knows her father. Sister who she never really got on with then loved dearly died of a demon attack. Lost a beloved brother-in-law. Fell to the dark jaws of love.  
  
It was more than most people could stand in a lifetime, and that had only been the past thirty years.  
  
"Overreacting? Paige, I swear, he said - he said that he was going to kill me, with Piper watching! Why won't anyone believe me?" Phoebe felt the tears well up for the first time in the short time since she had come across Wyatt's 'secret' if she could call it that.  
  
"I believe you, honey." Paige said, not very convincingly. To be honest she wasn't sure whether she did believe Phoebe. It all seemed very far-fetched, even for the Charmed Ones. A slight nagging in the back of her mind asked her whether she thought Phoebe was hallucinating, or maybe even seeking attention.  
  
"Yeah, right." Phoebe heard the hesitation. "No one does. I may as well just kill myself now and save Wyatt the bother."  
  
The front door flew open and Piper burst in before Paige could exclaim at her sister's statement. Immediately both younger sisters knew something was wrong, for the eldest Charmed One, her face streaked with tears, slammed the door so hard the glass almost shattered, and locked it with shaking hands before turning to close the windows.  
  
"Piper?" Phoebe asked, her voice shaking. There was no reply as Piper darted into the kitchen and was heard locking the side door. "Piper?" Phoebe repeated.  
  
"Oh God." Piper burst into tears. "Phoebe, you were right, I'm so sorry, it's Wyatt, he." She choked on a sob and slumped down to the floor, burying her face in her hands. Paige immediately felt guilty for doubting her sister. She knew that they shared a close bond, and Phoebe would never make up something about Wyatt like that.  
  
"What happened, honey?" Paige asked, seeing Phoebe was in no fit state to speak, from shock.  
  
"I didn't want to be right, Piper." Phoebe whispered. "I wanted to be wrong. Even have gone crazy, or hallucinated, if that meant that Wyatt was - normal."  
  
"He - I took him out of school for the day and we went to see - we went to see Leo." Piper sobbed. "Leo stared at Wyatt like he didn't even know him. And then - and then he said to me that he isn't Wyatt. Something - something's taken Wyatt and replaced him with - I don't know. I don't understand." She broke into a fresh bout of tears. "Wyatt got really angry then when he heard Leo say that, and he - his eyes, Phoebe. I can't explain it."  
  
"I know." Phoebe replied quietly. There had been something about the twelve- year-old's eyes that was unexplainable. There was so much evil, and hatred inside his head.  
  
"I panicked then. I ran. I ran, and I left him alone in the middle of the night. By himself! Oh God, I have to go and get him!" Piper jumped to her feet and ran towards the door.  
  
"No!" Paige grabbed one arm and Phoebe grabbed the other. "Piper, if what you say is true, which I have no doubt in, then we could be dealing with something really big. You said it yourself. Wyatt isn't here anymore."  
  
Piper wiped her face, her lower lip trembling. Her face was completely white with the shock of finding out what she had been in denial over, her dark eyes wide and scared, and Paige noted with concern that she was shaking all over. "You're right." She faltered. "Okay. Yes, you're right." Slowly, she turned away from the front door, pulling herself away from her sisters, and started walking up the stairs.  
  
"Piper?" Phoebe asked, having finally found her voice.  
  
"I just want to be alone right now, okay?" Piper replied, and moved in a trance up the rest of the staircase. Because that was exactly what she was. Alone. 


	8. Part Eight

Part Eight.  
  
Still in the past.  
  
Piper rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, feeling her tears dry on her cheeks. She was gradually getting over the initial shock of finding out that her young son was not who he had once been, and her mind was filled with thoughts of how to save Wyatt. Her sisters had knocked once or twice on her bedroom door but she had told them again and again that she wanted to be left alone, to think of ways to get her son back. Realizing that maybe Phoebe and Paige could help, Piper got to her feet, stumbling slightly on jelly-legs, and, pulling her coat around her - for there was a definite chill in the air - made her way down the stairs to the kitchen where Paige and Phoebe sat in solemn silence. They jumped up as soon as the brunette entered the room.  
  
"Are you okay, honey?" Phoebe asked, her voice filled with sadness. Piper shook her head.  
  
"No, but I have to deal. We all have to."  
  
Paige nodded in agreement. "So - what are we going to do?"  
  
"We're going to save my son." Piper replied grimly. She had taken the Book of Shadows from the attic before going down to the kitchen, and set it on the breakfast island, flipping through the pages.  
  
"What are we looking for then?" Phoebe queried, glancing over her older sister's shoulder.  
  
"Possession, I suppose." Paige intervened, pointing at a page.  
  
"It doesn't make sense." Phoebe shook her head. "Witches are only possessed to get their powers, and then killed - what is Wyatt trying to do? I mean, remember when you were possessed by Tara, Piper. All she wanted you for was to kill her demonic boyfriend."  
  
Piper grimaced. "Don't remind me."  
  
"So what does this thing inside Wyatt want?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Paige blurted. "He wants to kill us!"  
  
"Paige!" Piper exclaimed.  
  
"What? Every demon does. This is no different. The thing possessed Wyatt to get our trust, because we would let our guard down around him, and tried to kill Phoebe. When he didn't succeed, he pretended to be Wyatt again. He wants to get rid of the Charmed Ones."  
  
"There's a surprise." Piper muttered bitterly. She raised her eyes to her two sisters. "Just listen to me a second, okay? Whatever you do, don't kill his body. Because then Wyatt's soul won't be able to return. We have to figure out a way to get the thing out of Wyatt, and then we can fight it."  
  
Phoebe ran a hand through her hair. "Piper - what if there is no way to get the demon out of Wyatt?"  
  
Piper shook her head. "No way. There is no way you are going to kill my son! I won't allow it!"  
  
"For all we know, he could be dead already!" Phoebe snapped. "Souls without a body gradually die! You almost did! How long Wyatt's been possessed, we don't know! His soul could have died years ago!"  
  
Piper burst into a fresh bout of tears. "No, I won't let you." She repeated, sliding off the stool, still clutching the Book of Shadows to her chest. She turned towards the door. "You're not going to kill my son."  
  
"Piper, think about it." Paige said quietly. She didn't want to admit it, but she thought that Phoebe could be right. Wyatt could already be dead.  
  
"No, I won't!" Piper screamed. She shook her head. "You don't know how this feels. You don't understand!"  
  
"No, we don't." Phoebe began.  
  
Then the front door crashed open, and the three sisters threw themselves to the ground as every window in the house shattered. Glass shards flying everywhere, Piper covered her face with her hands, whilst Paige braved it and peered over the counter. Wyatt was standing in the kitchen doorway, his eyes glittering fiercely, a look on his face that terrified Paige to the bone. She shuddered, closing her eyes to block out the glare of her nephew. Never had she felt such terror, such bewilderment - such helplessness.  
  
"Oh God." Piper moaned, scrambling to her feet. "Wyatt, if you're still there, listen to me. You got to get out - or in, whatever. Wyatt!"  
  
Wyatt cocked his head to one side as he smirked at his mother. "I hate that name."  
  
He thrust his palm forwards into the air.  
  
Phoebe screamed in horror as she watched her sister crash through the kitchen wall, plaster falling to the floor. A large gaping hole showed in the side of the house, broken bricks cracking apart, and then there was silence from Piper's side.  
  
"Leo!" Paige bellowed, crawling to Phoebe's side in protection. Wyatt giggled, a manic sound that chilled her through and through.  
  
"He can't hear you. I took care of him."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Phoebe, in her shock at her nephew's statement, bobbed up before the blonde could stop her.  
  
"Phoebe, no!"  
  
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "That means I killed him, and you're next."  
  
Phoebe shook her head. "Oh, no. You tried once but you won't again." She levitated into the air and aimed a kick at the twelve-year-old's head. Wyatt grabbed her ankle mid-air, and twisted it sharply around. Phoebe gave another cry, this time of pain, as her leg broke. Paige winced and looked away as the middle sister fell to the floor whimpering.  
  
"I think I will try again, because it's so much fun!" Wyatt exclaimed happily. He raised a hand, and a glowing fireball hovered above his palm. It was too much for Paige. Jumping to her feet, she threw herself at the child, bringing him to the ground on top of Phoebe, who gave another cry and promptly fainted from the pain.  
  
Not one for the verbal banter, Paige wrenched Wyatt off her sister and threw him against the wall. The fighting lessons she had had with Phoebe were paying off, she realized as she pummeled him hard.  
  
"Paige!" Piper gasped from the hole in the wall. Paige spun around, and her eyes widened in horror. Piper's face was covered in blood from a large gash on her head, and her own dark eyes had a glazed look to them. "Don't - don't kill - don't kill him!" She fell back out of sight.  
  
Paige, shocked by the sight of her older sister, was caught off guard and after feeling a sharp pain to the skull, remembered no more.  
  
To be continued. 


	9. Part Nine

Part Nine.  
  
Still in the past.  
  
Chasmez looked down at the three unconscious women on the kitchen floor, his smile slowly fading. Behind him, he heard a choke of horror, and spun around to see the boy's soul standing in the doorway, tears pouring down his face.  
  
Far too young to watch me kill his family, Chasmez thought. He had the tiniest bit of respect for the twelve-year-old . after all, Wyatt had willingly given his body up to the demon. With an impatient sigh, he drew the boy away from the kitchen.  
  
"You killed them." Wyatt began to sob. "I thought you just wanted to get their powers. I didn't think - you wanted to kill them."  
  
"This is an opportunity of a lifetime, kid." Chasmez said calmly. "To just let the Charmed Ones get away? Besides, another demon would come after them eventually, and without their powers they'd be helpless besides. So it's better this way."  
  
Wyatt shook his head, unable to believe what he had done. "You told me - you said to me that you wouldn't harm them. YOU SAID!"  
  
"A word of advice, chicka." Chasmez replied. "Never trust a demon. Didn't your parents teach you that?"  
  
Wyatt nodded slowly. "Yeah. but now they're dead." He looked down ruefully at his transparent self. "And I'm a nothing."  
  
"Too right." Chasmez sighed, not wanting to tell the boy that his aunts and mother weren't dead - at least, not yet. He wanted to get the kid out of the way so that he could finish the job off. "Now, why don't you toddle off somewhere and play with blocks or something."  
  
"First off, I'm not a baby." Wyatt snapped angrily. "And secondly - he reached forward and tried to pick up the fruit bowl on the coffee table. His hand passed right through it. "I'm like a ghost. I can't do anything."  
  
"Look, kid, just get out the house." Chasmez snapped back. "You're not invisible to mortals, you know. Someone must've heard the commotion - they'll be calling the police any minute, and what do you think they'll do when they see you here?"  
  
Wyatt wiped his cheeks and without another word, orbed out. Grinning at his success, Chasmez stepped into the boy's body that had been standing in the kitchen threshold motionless for the past ten minutes and bent down next to Phoebe, who had drifted into unconsciousness from the pain of her broken leg. Placing a hand over her forehead, he began to suck her essence through his palm, along with her powers, setting her soul free.  
  
Paige stirred and awoke, her head throbbing. Her eyes widened as she saw the green mist floating out of the middle sister into her nephew, and, ignoring the pain of her head, threw herself at Wyatt, knocking him out the way.  
  
"NO!"  
  
"God, you again." Chasmez rolled his eyes. He was enjoying playing the part of an innocent twelve-year-old . all the other witches he had possessed had been grumpy old women.  
  
"What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Paige was horrified by Phoebe's appearance. Having most of her essence sucked out of her, her face was a greenish white, her lips were tainted blue and she looked, to all appearances, dead. But she was breathing, quietly but harshly, and Paige was relieved.  
  
"Why? I'll tell you why. I'm fed up of being not allowed to do what I want. I want freedom, and I want power. And now I have it." Wyatt giggled. He pushed Paige out the way easily, and placed his palm back on Phoebe's forehead.  
  
Struggling to stay awake, for her head was hurting so badly now that silver spots flitted in front of her eyes, Paige focused all her attention on orbing. Grabbing her sister's lifeless hand, she orbed the pair out of the house and into the garden, where Piper was lying. Paige didn't know if she could get all three of them into safe hiding - she was already exhausted just by orbing Phoebe out of the house.  
  
Before she could compensate what to do, where to go, Wyatt blinked into the garden in front of her eyes. Paige's eyes widened, as the truth dawned on her.  
  
She was going to die, along with her sisters. And there was no escape. 


	10. Part Ten

Part Ten.  
  
The past.  
  
"Come on, guys, you gotta wake up, come on!" Paige sobbed, overwhelmed with a terror she had never felt before. She felt so helpless, lying in front of a child that she had loved for the past twelve years, but the realization of loss of her nephew hadn't struck yet. She was too busy trying to save her sisters and her own life. Piper stirred and muttered, and Paige's heart leapt, but still the eldest Halliwell sister didn't awake. "Wyatt, why are you doing this?" The blonde begged, tears streaming down her face. She hated the way he was just standing there, waiting to kill them - she knew that soon he would get impatient and then - then she didn't want to think what would happen. "Phoebe! Piper!" Paige tried desperately to summon up her energy to orb the three of them out of there, but they only landed several feet further away from the boy.  
  
What's wrong with my powers?  
  
Paige choked on another sob and slipped protectively in front of her sisters as Wyatt strode up to them. "Wyatt, this isn't you." She managed to force the words out between her sobs. "How can you do this to us? Your family."  
  
Wyatt shook his head, smiling. "No, you're mistaken there. Because I don't have a family. Although you were right about the first. It isn't me." But he said no more.  
  
"Please, oh God, please." Paige reached for Piper's wrist. Her sister's pulse was faint, but there, at least. "What do you want from us?"  
  
"Nothing much." Wyatt shrugged as he reached the trio, then knelt down and stared Paige straight in the face, even as she tried to shy away.  
  
Paige felt dizzy. The piercing blue eyes of her nephew boring into her made her light-headed and weak, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. She felt as if she were paralyzed into staring at him, and there was nothing that would wrench their glares apart.  
  
Grinning, Wyatt stood up and walked over to Phoebe. Placing his palm over her forehead, the greenish mist began to form out of her mouth and nose, and into his own body. Paige began to cry again. She could almost hear Phoebe's silent screams, but she couldn't move - couldn't help. Even her lips couldn't form words.  
  
The twelve-year-old left his aunt's side and bent down over his mother, just as she awoke.  
  
"Wyatt?" Piper asked fuzzily. "What are you doing?" Her eyes widened in shock as he clamped one hand over her mouth and pressed one hand on her stomach, keeping her lying on the ground. Paige felt her paralysis weaken enough to turn her head, and she choked in horror at Piper struggling for her life as her own essence was slowly drained away. Paige could feel the pain of her sisters, the unbearable feeling of having themselves taken out of their own bodies and given to evil so willingly. "Mmmph!" Piper screamed for a final time under Wyatt's hand before she went limp, her face grey.  
  
Paige felt the rest of the paralysis wear off from the anguish of seeing the two people she loved most in the entire world die in front of her eyes. She stared at their bodies, so still, so cold, and suddenly the tears could no longer come. She was beyond crying now - her pain was so much more than that.  
  
The thousands of emotions floating around Paige's heart gave her enough energy to orb far away from the murderer of her sisters. 


	11. Part Eleven

Part Eleven.  
  
Paige looked around her in bewilderment. She recognized where she was, but didn't quite figure out how she had gotten there. She knew that she had orbed, just to get away from the murderer that was her nephew, but how she had managed to get access to Elder land was beyond her.  
  
"Miss Matthews." An Elder came up to her, his face filled with a mixture of sympathy and sadness.  
  
She wiped her wet face, feeling the tears well up again. "Uh - yeah."  
  
"We know."  
  
Anger began to bubble up inside of Paige. "You mean you knew that he was possessed? Why the hell didn't you do something? Get us out of there? Do you know what you did? It's your fault they're dead! My sisters - dead! And all because of your stupid rules. Your rules that's caused Piper too much heartache. Your rules that have destroyed our lives."  
  
"We couldn't stop him." The Elder began, but Paige cut him off, her heart screaming in anguish.  
  
"Then what the hell good are you? You're the bosses of the supernatural world, you say you're the good guys, but how can you be? You're supposed to protect the Charmed Ones. We should be the bosses. We're way more powerful than you."  
  
"Exactly." The Elder interrupted. "You say that you are - and you couldn't defeat the demon that possessed Wyatt."  
  
Paige paused for breath, and her eyes widened in realization. There was nothing they could have done. That had been their fate - to die. That had been all they were destined to do.  
  
Die. Die. Die. The word echoed for hours in her brain. She turned away from the Elder and began to walk away, swimming in depths of sorrow.  
  
"We'll be watching over you, Paige." The Elder called after her. "I know that we can't defeat him, but we'll warn you if he's coming."  
  
She turned, slowly. "That's what's happening? I'm just - just going to run? For the rest of my life?"  
  
He shrugged. "I honestly - I honestly don't know. We've never come across anything like this before. Even the Source - even the Source wasn't as powerful, and now that he has your powers - who knows what he'll do."  
  
Paige sat down heavily and buried her face in her heads, her body wracked with sobs. Her sisters and her brother-in-law were dead, and for the rest of her life, which could be years, she would be running from a child.  
  
What's the use? Why should you run? You're going to die anyway, someday. Just get it over with.  
  
A voice inside her head said. She shook her head, hard. The truth was, she was terrified of dying. She had no idea where her sisters were now, and the thought that they could be in a hell scared her witless.  
  
You're all alone. There's no one for you anymore. Now you'll learn what loneliness is like. 


	12. Part Twelve

Part Twelve.  
  
The next couple of days passed in a blur for Paige as she constantly orbed away from the danger that was her nephew. She was far too terrified to go back to the manor - the mere thought of seeing her sisters' bodies make her retch. The image of Piper and Phoebe's grey faces as the demon that had possessed Wyatt sucked the life out of them still lingered in Paige's brain, and their silent, pleading screams as they died had echoed around her head ever since that fateful day.  
  
She had called for Leo hour after hour, hoping that Wyatt's statement had been a lie, but the Whitelighter had never replied. The Elders had been no help at all, simply telling her that she would eventually die and all she could do was run. They hadn't even mentioned Leo.  
  
Sitting on an overstuffed chair in a motel room she had rented out, her haven, Paige wrapped her arms around her legs, pulled her knees up to her chest and stared out of the window at the darkening sky. Even though it was only August, she noticed that it was getting dark much earlier. Whether or not it was a side effect of Wyatt's power, she didn't know, and didn't care. The dark had scared her at first. She had lain in bed, wide awake, ever since Piper and Phoebe had died, too terrified to sleep in case Wyatt found her. She wasn't so scared now, but still refused to sleep. There were a thousand voices, emotions, screams in her head, and for some odd reason they comforted her. She could only pick out several of the voices - it was her sisters, all three of them, including the one that she had never met - all of them, telling her to hold on, be strong, everything would turn out okay.  
  
The tears had long dried on Paige's cheeks. It had only been a week, but she had cried so much that there was no longer any sobs inside her. All she could do now, to pass her time, was try and think back on the happy memories that she had with her two sisters. Yet her brain refused to go past the day that they died. It was as if it were trying to blank out everything before the nightmare began.  
  
Suddenly longing not to be alone anymore, Paige got to her feet, glanced at her reflection in the cracked mirror, and sighed. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was tangled and greasy, and her jeans and shirt, which she hadn't changed, were still covered in the blood from the wound on her head. Reaching for a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and hastily running a comb through her hair, she left her motel room in search of comfort.  
  
*  
  
Glen frowned as the doorbell rang, and left the soup bubbling on the stove to look at the clock. It was just past six o'clock. His wife, Jessica, glanced up from the table where she was sitting reading a paper. "You want me to get that?"  
  
He peered around the kitchen window at the front door, and his eyes widened as he saw Paige standing there. Knowing that Jessica would never be particularly fond of the young witch, he shook his head hastily. "No, I'll get it. Just keep an eye on the soup, okay?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Glen pulled open the front door and stepped out into the porch, shutting the door behind him so that Jessica wouldn't hear Paige talking. "Paige - what are you doing here?" He knew instantly that something was wrong. Her eyes were full of a sadness he had never seen before.  
  
"Uhm." Paige glanced around, looking bewildered.  
  
"What's wrong?" He put a hand on her arm and moved them both out of sight of the kitchen window. She took a deep breath, her eyes filling with tears she thought she had cried away.  
  
"I don't know how - how to say it." She swallowed. "There was no one to tell."  
  
"Tell what?"  
  
"Piper - and Phoebe." She looked up, suddenly seeming so young and vulnerable, not like the powerful witch Glen knew at all. "They're dead, Glen."  
  
He stared at her, unable to absorb the shocking news. "Uh - what? How?"  
  
"And that's the worst part. Wyatt. Wyatt did it." Paige burst into a fresh bout of tears, silently cursing herself. Glen completely forgot about his wife, and, yanking open the front door, pulled Paige inside. Jessica appeared in the kitchen doorway, a confused expression on her face.  
  
"Glen? What's wrong with Paige?"  
  
"Not now, Jessica." He snapped, drawing Paige into a hug. Jessica's eyebrows raised, but she said nothing. Paige looked like she needed some comfort.  
  
Paige found herself more sobbing with relief than grief as Glen held her. She had thought that she would be alone forever - yet in Glen's arms, she felt safe, and happy.  
  
For a second.  
  
Glen suddenly let go of Paige, his eyes wide in shock. "Jessica?"  
  
Paige spun around, and instantly recognized the graying look on the blonde's face. Yet Wyatt was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Jessica, what's wrong?" Glen leapt forwards, catching his wife just as she fell. "Paige, call an ambulance. Quickly!"  
  
Paige shook her head. "No."  
  
"What the hell do you mean no?"  
  
"It's too late, Glen." She stared at the floor. "He's killed her, just like he killed my sisters."  
  
"She's not dead!" He began to cry. "Dammit, Paige, call 911!"  
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Paige yelled. "I don't know where Wyatt is, but if he managed to kill Jessica without even being in the same room, then he's more powerful. He'll come for us next. We've got to go."  
  
Glen shook his head, his eyes blazing. "No. I'm not leaving her. She's not dead."  
  
"She has no life in her anymore." Paige replied sadly. "It's over. We've got to go."  
  
"No."  
  
"Glen, he'll kill you!"  
  
He looked up, his face a mixture of pain and anger. "I don't care. I just have to be with her. If I can't be with her, then there's no point in living. He can kill me. I'm not afraid of death if it means I'll be with her forever. I don't understand why you'd rather stay alone and alive for the rest of your life rather than be with the people you love most always."  
  
Paige turned away slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She was tearing apart. 


	13. Part Thirteen

Part Thirteen.  
  
On the day of their deaths.  
  
Piper blinked quickly, waiting for the mist to rise from her eyes. As the world came back into focus, she saw herself staring into the face of her son. He was looking at her with a concerned expression on his face, and had his hand on her forehead.  
  
"Wyatt."  
  
She felt a sharp stab of pain just below her heart, and almost cried out as it grew worse endlessly. His expression of concern faded into one of triumph, and she gasped for breath, feeling her own life being sucked out of her. The pain was almost unbearable, so much so that she couldn't make a sound. She could hear one of her sisters - she wasn't sure who - yelling frantically next to her, and wondered vaguely why her sister wasn't doing anything to stop her son.  
  
"What are you doing?" The words came out in a rush, and she almost vomited from the sheer pressure of just trying to talk. Black clouds formed in front of her eyes as she felt herself fading back into unconsciousness, but she wrenched her lids back open, knowing that tears were streaming down her face. She wanted to scream badly, but the moment where she had been able to talk had passed, and she was paralyzed again. Wyatt gave a sharp, high giggle, and pressed his hand harder into her forehead, knocking her head against concrete.  
  
Oh God, make it stop, make it stop, please, don't.  
  
Piper begged silently, scrabbling at Wyatt's hands, trying to tear him away from her. She could feel herself growing weaker and weaker, and she knew that she was fading away. She had had the feeling of death before, but nothing like this. It was for real this time. She was going to die.  
  
Piper blinked again, and all of a sudden, she was on her feet. Bewildered, she glanced around, and saw Wyatt kneeling at her feet. "Wyatt?" She asked hesitantly. He didn't answer. Spinning around, fully recovered, Piper saw Paige crouched down, sobbing, yet not moving a muscle. Phoebe was lying next to Paige, completely still - completely lifeless. "Oh God." Piper gasped. "Phoebe!" She fell to her knees and tried to shake her sister, then stared in confusion as her hands seemed to pass right through. "Phoebe? Paige? What's going on?"  
  
"Piper." Phoebe said softly. Piper stared at her sister's body. "Over here, Piper."  
  
Piper looked up, and saw her sister's spirit standing just above her. "Phoebe - oh, Phoebe, he killed you."  
  
Phoebe pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ears. "Piper." The eldest sister looked over at Wyatt, and saw herself, lying there, completely still, her face grey. "Oh no." She burst into tears again. "No, he didn't. He can't have."  
  
"Piper, honey." Phoebe longed to put her arms around her sister, but she knew that she couldn't. She felt exactly the same as Piper, but she had learnt long ago to hide her emotions.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Piper was wrenched to her feet by an invisible force.  
  
"Do? There's nothing we can do."  
  
"Paige - we can't leave Paige alone, Phoebe." Piper looked down at the sobbing figure below her. "He'll kill her. Or - I don't know. But she's got no one now! Oh, God."  
  
"Piper, we have to go." A soft voice said. She turned, and saw Leo, his aura shining, yet his face full of sadness.  
  
"Leo - what has our son done?"  
  
"He's not our son anymore." Leo took his wife's hand. "We have to leave now."  
  
"No!" Phoebe suddenly blurted, realization dawning. "Piper's right. We can't leave Paige. We have to help her."  
  
"There's nothing we can do, Phoebe. We just have to wait."  
  
"For what? For him to kill her? No, I don't want her to go through the pain that I went through. Do you know what it feels like, to have the life sucked out of you? Do you?" Piper demanded angrily. "It is excruciating. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I was paralyzed - I was."  
  
"Helpless." Phoebe intervened quietly. Piper turned slowly.  
  
"Yes, I was. Completely and utterly helpless, to my own son." 


	14. Part Fourteen

Part Fourteen.  
  
"Glen, please." Paige begged, tears streaming down her face. She knelt down next to Jessica's body and took her ex-boyfriend's cold hands into her own. "Please, come with me. Before it's too late." She suddenly felt drained of all energy, and she just wanted to hide under the covers of her bed and sleep for the rest of her life. She was so tired of running away, of crying, of mourning her sisters. She wanted it all over.  
  
Glen shook his head, wrenching his hands from hers. "I don't know how to live without her anymore, Paige." He whispered. "I can't do it - I just can't."  
  
"But." Paige knew exactly how he felt. The feeling of total despair was overwhelming. Having all hope pulled away from their lives, the fantasy they all had of living to grow old and happy with the one they loved - that was a mere dream, and both of them knew now that that would never happen. At the present, all that lay ahead of them were dark, bleak years running from the demon that had destroyed their past and future. Crumpling inside, Paige felt the anguish stab hard at her heart, and she knew that if she let Glen die, she wouldn't be able to survive. She couldn't stand the torment of watching another person she loved get murdered by her own family. "Glen, listen to me. Do you really think that Jessica will want you to die for her? She doesn't want to see you go through what she did. I - I can't let you give your life up."  
  
Glen looked up at her, his large brown eyes full of despair. "I don't want to live for years without her, Paige. I just can't."  
  
She suddenly felt a rush of cold wind, and saw Wyatt standing behind her ex- boyfriend, his hands reaching for Glen's life. Without another word, she grasped hold of his hands and orbed.  
  
Glen yanked away as soon as they got to the safety of Paige's motel room, glaring at her. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled, his voice hoarse and filled with tears. She stared at him wordlessly, unable to think of anything to say. "Take me back there, Paige. I mean it. I can't leave her!"  
  
"She's gone, Glen. It's only her body there now."  
  
"I don't care! I don't care! Do you hear me? I don't care!" Glen repeated, over and over. "She's my wife, goddamnit! I'm not leaving her! I'll never leave her - she's my everything! Can't you understand that?"  
  
Paige sank down onto the bed and stared at the floor. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, little louder than a whisper. Still fighting back tears, Glen stayed on his feet, staring at her.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Fighting this, Glen. Jessica doesn't want you to die. Don't you think she'll want you to help me get our revenge on Wyatt? Wouldn't you rather get rid of that demon than let him destroy everything?"  
  
Glen sank to his knees. "I want revenge, yes." He said slowly.  
  
"See? We can!"  
  
He shook his head. "But not as much as I want Jessica. Don't you see, Paige? I can't live without her. You can't keep me alive - eventually I'll find a way to be with her. You're the one torturing me, here, keeping me from her. Paige, if this is some ploy - because I chose her over you."  
  
Paige leapt to her feet, her eyes blazing with anger. "What?!" She exclaimed furiously. "You - you think that this is all because of that petty argument we had when you told me about your engagement to Jessica?"  
  
Glen backed away, startled by the reaction he had gotten. "Whoa, calm down, Paige."  
  
"Let me tell you, the reason I took you away from that house, where Wyatt is, is because I wanted you to live. I didn't want you to lose your life. But I see now that that is what you really want. Okay, if you have to be so damn selfish, Glen, that's up to you."  
  
"How am I being selfish?"  
  
"For God's sake! You're being a stubborn prat. You won't listen to me. All you want is for you to be happy. How do you think your family is going to feel? What about me? I never stopped loving you, not for a second." She wiped the tears welling in her eyes. "But you know what? If you really want to throw away years of your life, just to be with someone that you can't guarantee you'll actually be with, that's up to you. I know you're hurting right now. I am too. I know it all happened too suddenly. But we can't change what's happened. Fine, it's your decision now. You can do what you like. Just remember that letting yourself out to death is not going to achieve anything."  
  
She strode over to the door and pulled it open, all the while her mind screaming "No! Don't let him go! Save him!"  
  
Speechless, Glen walked out. 


	15. Part Fifteen

Part Fifteen.  
  
Paige closed the door quietly after Glen, slid the chain across, and turned her back against the wall. Slowly she slid down until she was crouched on the floor, and the wall blocking her tears collapsed. Rocking back and forth, she sobbed into her hands, feeling utterly confused.  
  
"Please, oh God, please, someone help me." She begged, raising her eyes to the ceiling. "I can't do this alone - I don't know how to! I've forgotten how to live without my sisters... I can't stand it, oh, please, someone help!" She started banging her head against the wall, terrified, bewildered and totally in anguish. "I'm so alone - I don't want to be alone, I need to be with them! I'm so fed up of losing the people I love... I can't stand it anymore, I can't be alone anymore, I just can't!" She felt as if the tears running down her cheeks and the pain in her heart would never end. At the moment there was nothing in front of her but darkness. "Why was it me that survived? Why? I'm not strong like they are, I'm not powerful like they are - so why am I the one still alive? Why?" She let out a small whimper, hitting her head harder. "I don't know what to do - I can't do this alone, I need them here, please, bring them back, I need them!"  
  
She raised her head again, and stared hard at the ceiling. A flake of plaster came off and floated down to her feet. Bursting into tears again, Paige scrambled to her feet and looked around. "I don't know what to do!" She yelled, suddenly angry.  
  
I have to go to the manor, and get the Book.  
  
Paige swallowed another sob. The only way to get away from the point where she was, was to get the Book of Shadows. It was a week since Piper and Phoebe's death, and she had no idea where they would be. Most likely the police had been and gone - but what if they were still there? Thousands of questions ran through her mind, and she knew that if she stayed in the motel room one more minute, she would go crazy. So, taking a deep breath, she orbed out and into the attic, where the Book was.  
  
Before she could even lay her hands on the pages, they started flipping on their own. She raised her head again, smiling slightly, knowing that at least her mother and her grandmother were watching over her. Sure enough, the spell that lay in front of her was to call for a lost witch.  
  
"Power of the witches' rise. Course unseen across the skies. Come to us, we call you near. Come to us and settle here."  
  
In front of her, a sparkle of orbs formed into a transparent person, but certainly not the one Paige expected. It was a woman that she had never met in person, but seen in photographs, and heard a lot about.  
  
Prue smiled slightly, her eyes full of sorrow for her half-sister. "Hello, Paige."  
  
To be continued. 


End file.
